Broken Differential Data

[nutter]

I know this is an old thread, but I thought I'd add mine to the list since I blew it this weekend.

2001 LX
135K miles
33s @ 15PSI
Center locked, repeated attempts up a steep grade using Maxtrax for traction aids. There was wheel lift but don't recall if that was exactly at the point that it failed. Removed flanges and front driveshaft and drove home in 2wd.

I haven't cracked it open yet but I think the ring gear is gone and but carriers seem okay.

I'm thinking of replacing with an ARB--that seems to be the consensus given that it will be about the same price as the OEM fix.

 

[nmatcek]

Yesterday
2004 LC
177k miles
275/70r18 st maxx. 35psi
Climbing a ledge with rear ARB locked and center diff locked. 4LO
Right front stayed planted and wasn't spinning. Left front lifted and set back down and that's all she wrote.

 

[nmatcek]

I know this is an old thread, but I thought I'd add mine to the list since I blew it this weekend.

2001 LX
135K miles
33s @ 15PSI
Center locked, repeated attempts up a steep grade using Maxtrax for traction aids. There was wheel lift but don't recall if that was exactly at the point that it failed. Removed flanges and front driveshaft and drove home in 2wd.

I haven't cracked it open yet but I think the ring gear is gone and but carriers seem okay.

I'm thinking of replacing with an ARB--that seems to be the consensus given that it will be about the same price as the OEM fix.

What was your final decision on the fix? ARB in the front ?

 

[nutter]

I went with an ARB up front. If you go open it's just a matter of time before you blow it again.

 

[krice118]

@nmatcek Most go ARB or Harrop E Locker from what I have seen.

 

[nmatcek]

@nmatcek Most go ARB or Harrop E Locker from what I have seen.

I'm probably going to go TJM. I have an ARB in the rear but my buddy can get me a really good deal on the TJM.
In the back of my mind I'm wanting to save almost a grand and just do R&P. I tell myself I'll just be more careful. But after some of the stories, including mine, where the truck really wasn't being pushed all that hard and it still broke, I think I'd be dumb not to toss a locker in there.

 

[abuck99]

Highly suggest Harrop E locker- no opportunity for “air fitting” leaks. One less thing to go wrong when you need instant lock-in performance.

Regardless of which locker you get, having a pro set up the locker and get the ring gear/pinion mesh perfect is money well spent.

 

[nmatcek]

Highly suggest Harrop E locker- no opportunity for “air fitting” leaks. One less thing to go wrong when you need instant lock-in performance.

Regardless of which locker you get, having a pro set up the locker and get the ring gear/pinion mesh perfect is money well spent.

Who sells the harrop ?

 

[abuck99]

Who sells the harrop ?

Cruiser Brothers are the importers, they sell directly and they also have a pretty well established dealer/ installer network. So buy from them or through an installer.

Harrop ELocker | Toyota 4x4 Differential Lockers | U.S. Dealer

FYI I'm not affiliated in any way with harrop or cruiser brothers. I suggest it because I had a little buyers remorse after dealing with some air actuator woes on my air locker install. Choosing a locker based on getting a deal is not always the best strategy. Choosing a locker based its overall market reputation, design/function, reliability/performance and most importantly: customer service and product support. Both ARB and Harrop are leaders in service & support of their products. Repeating my previous advice, set-up of the locker in the diff and getting the mesh/lash set perfectly is a job for an experienced gear installer who is well versed in Toyota gears; can't stress this enough.

 

[Kofoed]

I am in the process of replacing CV shafts, and was really tempted to pull the pumpkin and have it fitted for a locker....just don't have the time to have the rig down that long right now. Maybe later this year. I haven't decided between ARB or harrop. I have seen the ARB around for decades and like the compressed air for other stuff (and ditch the portable pump)

 

[nutter]

There was a group by on the TJMs a while ago and I remember reading in the thread quite a few people having issues. I don't know if it was the product or the installation, but it made me wary of TJM. May be unfounded, but ARB obviously has a great reputation. Either way, if you have a shop do it, make sure they're reputable. I had Mudrak Custom Cruisers do mine, and pulling in and seeing about 50 cruisers lined up there made me confident they knew what they were doing.

 

[Skidoo]

What was your final decision on the fix? ARB in the front ?

When I broke mine a few years ago (early post in this thread) went with ARB and it has served me well. Now I would consider a TJM locker or Harrop e-locker. Since then I replaced my rear ARB with a TJM due to gear oil coming out at compressor solenoid. Sounds like you are running stock gears so something you may want to look into down the road is the crawler gear set for low range in t-case from Marlin. I just finished putting 4:88 in diffs and the crawler gear set in. Sound like you do a lot work yourself, so think you could take it on.

Edit: Still have ARB in front and no issues with it, so if had to do it again would pick from three mentioned in this post based on which had best deal at the time.

 

[abuck99]

Not a group buy per se, it was a product close out and seemingly a hell of a deal. I was in that group of buyers. And while TJM did come through to make it right after leaning on them a bit, I learned a few things in the process which I have shared above. FWIW The TJM product is not a bad design, its very heavy duty and well designed for an air locker, in fact the updated actuator is prob a better design than the ARB (IMO). Unfortunately at the time in late 2016 when Summit closed out all of their inventory, the TJM US office simultaneously underwent a re-org( new people) and the staff wasn't all knowing at the time. Summit dumped some old inventory that had an obsolete designed actuator in the box, and no one knew that until after install and the actuators started failing. Some other problems were reported at the same time but I think those were installer set up errors and not actuator related. Nothing against TJM, the US office may be up to speed now, but the other two majors mentioned above have a very experienced and established network in place. It does make a difference considering the price of entry in a locker.

 

[nutter]

@abuck99 Thanks for the detailed explanation to help clear things up. So as long as they ship you the right stuff, sounds like the TJM is a solid product.

 

[SlowBuild]

@abuck99 Thanks for the detailed explanation to help clear things up. So as long as they ship you the right stuff, sounds like the TJM is a solid product.

I went with tjm recently, too soon for any feedback. I understood that issues have been resolved and chose it over arb because of their leaky solenoids. Time will tell if I made the right decision.

 

[nmatcek]

Does anyone have a TJM locker hooked up to an ARB compressor? I already have the ARB in the rear with the ARB compressor so if I went with TJM, I'd have to buy the ARB solenoid actuation switch and harness separately. Don't know how much that would run me. The ARB is going to run me about $100 more than the TJM but some of that would be offset by the extra switch expense. Might be worth it for me to just spring for the ARB and be done with it. Keep everything in the same family. Thoughts??

 

[Skidoo]

Does anyone have a TJM locker hooked up to an ARB compressor? I already have the ARB in the rear with the ARB compressor so if I went with TJM, I'd have to buy the ARB solenoid actuation switch and harness separately. Don't know how much that would run me.

I have ARB compressor, solenoids and switches. ARB front locker and TJM rear locker. All works fine.

 

[sdnative]

Feb 2018
2003 LC

I was going up a sandy / rocky section in the local desert when I lost traction. The truck slid left into a rock while the front wheels were spinning trying to get traction. I was very light on the throttle, RPM was around 1200-1500, ATRAC was active. Tire started bouncing then apparently gripped and I heard a pop. At first I thought the tire had thrown a rock up against the skidplate. As I backed down and turned around I could feel a slight bind every 5 feet or so. I drove it maybe 50' to a flat section then pulled the drive flanges and front driveshaft and limped it home in 2wd. I haven't pulled it apart yet, but pretty sure it's the diff. I am guessing I broke a tooth off the ring gear.

I think I broke my front diff what are my options?

 

[mdcoa]

Not a club I had hoped to join, but broke mine last weekend.

2004 with 145kish miles. AFAIK, never off-roaded before I bought it 18 mos ago. Since then off-roaded pretty lightly on probably five occasions.

235/85R16 tires with 40 PSI. Driving down I-66 going about 70mph. BANG. Whap whap whap whap--initially thought we hit something and got a flat. Despite having spent roughly half my life reading mud threads since getting the truck, I hadn't realized how weak even the 4-pinion diffs were. Didn't imagine one would break on the highway and spent a few hours chasing down other possibilities for the noise rather than immediately assuming it was the diff, as I would have if it had happened on a trail obstacle.

Background: We were on our way home from camping and running some trails in the GW National Forest. During trail runs tires were at 20 psi. Some very slight traction loss a couple times, some ATRAC activation, and dragging a downed tree back til the trunk snapped. Having now done even more research, I'm wondering if that (hard pull in reverse--no sudden taking up of slack or anything, but it took a good tug) might have weakened the gears, setting them up for breaking on the highway.

Haven't pulled it yet, but think it might just be ring gear damage--hoping to pull it tonight and then start figuring out the way forward--repair or replace, improve with locker, etc. . .

 

[abuck99]

Not a club I had hoped to join, but broke mine last weekend.

2004 with 145kish miles. AFAIK, never off-roaded before I bought it 18 mos ago. Since then off-roaded pretty lightly on probably five occasions.

235/85R16 tires with 40 PSI. Driving down I-66 going about 70mph. BANG. Whap whap whap whap--initially thought we hit something and got a flat. Despite having spent roughly half my life reading mud threads since getting the truck, I hadn't realized how weak even the 4-pinion diffs were. Didn't imagine one would break on the highway and spent a few hours chasing down other possibilities for the noise rather than immediately assuming it was the diff, as I would have if it had happened on a trail obstacle.

Background: We were on our way home from camping and running some trails in the GW National Forest. During trail runs tires were at 20 psi. Some very slight traction loss a couple times, some ATRAC activation, and dragging a downed tree back til the trunk snapped. Having now done even more research, I'm wondering if that (hard pull in reverse--no sudden taking up of slack or anything, but it took a good tug) might have weakened the gears, setting them up for breaking on the highway.

Haven't pulled it yet, but think it might just be ring gear damage--hoping to pull it tonight and then start figuring out the way forward--repair or replace, improve with locker, etc. . .

Backwards pulls can be front diff killers. There's already some extra lash in the carrier & driveline from age and miles. Then under reverse load some flex and separation occurs between the ring gear and pinion gear- and if the shock or load is heavy enough a tooth shears on one or the other. Guessing its the ring gear that failed and debris kept coming off until it chewed up the front diff and it chernobyled. But its worth inspecting the axle flanges anyway.

Fwiw the OEM 4pinion carrier is definitely more robust than the older 2 pinion carrier, they just have different failure points. Even aftermarket locked carriers break gears.